Life model
The fulfillment of life and all of the factors connected with it are the content of the life model . Developed in 1980 by Carel B. Germain and Alex gridman in the USA, it describes the embedding and development of the social individual in his natural, economic, social and cultural environment.
Unlike, for example, the systems theory , which regards the individual with his social, cultural, economic and natural environment as a whole, and cybernetics , which takes individual aspects of this theory as an occasion for research purposes, and also different from Urie Bronfenbrenner's theory , which the individual sees it as part of its individual individual systems, the life model is responsible for considering the individual integrated into society as a whole over his entire life span and evaluating various factors that are related to the life of the individual and society. Thus, the life model is to be seen as a metatheory that defines itself with the life of the individual in relation to society and society in relation to the individual. It represents the macro system of theories.
Ecological thinking
The theory of the Life Model includes ecological thinking. It is assumed here that humans and the environment influence and change one another. This reciprocal process is called a transaction by Germain & Gridman . It is different with linear thinking that does not assume any mutual influence. E.g .: If a person contaminates the groundwater in their environment, they can still enjoy this water. Since simple linear explanatory models cannot explain complex phenomena such as humans and the environment satisfactorily, ecological thinking is more vivid here. Germain / gridman understand the environment to be culture, society, family, neighborhood, groups, organizations, place of residence etc.
Conceptual separation
transaction
These transactions can be adaptive or anti-adaptive for the individual, but are dependent on the personality traits and the characteristics of the environment in which the individual resides. Gridman speaks here of an interaction process . A comparison with the concept of persona in psychology would be possible here, since every change in the environment also entails a change in the person itself. Transferred to the Bronfenbrenner model, this means that every system requires certain characteristics of a person, while other characteristics in these systems are not required and are therefore not encouraged.
niche
If adaptation to a certain environment is encouraged, a niche is created . The individual is assigned a place in society, the so-called field of action or habitat . The habitat can also have a good as well as a bad influence on the individual, which in turn has an effect on the person-environment relationship; in general, this is referred to as a good or bad niche.
stress
Everyone develops personal strengths and weaknesses in their childhood to a certain extent. If he lives in an environment that encourages him to adapt, in which he can live out his strengths, then there is conformity with the person and the environment. If he lives in an environment that is hostile to adaptation, there is a disproportion between the two, which ultimately leads to stress .
Life stress
The person-environment relationship is ultimately decisive for coping with the life of the individual. In this context life stress is used. He differentiates between two types of stress, positive and negative life stress.
The positive life stress is referred to as the driving factor for society and the individual. It is the libido in the Freudian sense, which stimulates society and keeps it growing, while the negative life stress tends to lead to the collapse, to the disintegration of society, it is the antagonist, the destrudo of society.
coping with stress
In order to bring these two forms of stress into balance, people use coping strategies , so-called coping as a form of stress management . Humans use two different types of coping: In problem-focused coping they try to change the situation they are in, while in emotion-focused coping they try to change themselves and his emotions to change. If the individual is able to cope with stress successfully, then lattice man & Germain speak of positive life stress or emotion-oriented coping, since the individual can cope with stress by acting out emotionally. When dealing with negative stress, one speaks of situation-oriented coping, because the stress is present in a form that the individual can cope with, but they do not (yet) have the necessary functions to reduce the stress. Here again reference must be made to the environment of the individual, which illustrates the aspect that promotes adaptation or that which is hostile to adaptation.
literature
- Practical Social Work: The 'Life Model' of Social Work, Advances In Theory And Practice, Carel B. Germain, Alex Gridman, Lucius & Lucius, 1999, ISBN 3828245307
- Pedagogy, Ed. Hobmair, Bildungsverlag Eins-Stam, Troisdorf, 2002, ISBN 3823750003
- Developmental Psychology, Rolf Oerter, Leo Montada, Beltz Verlage, Weinheim, 2002, ISBN 3621274790
- Theories of Social Work: An Introduction, Ernst Engelke, Stefan Borrmann, Christian Spatscheck, Lambertus, 2009, ISBN 3784119336
credentials
- ^ Pedagogy, Ed. Hobmair, Bildungsverlag Eins-Stam, Troisdorf, 2002, ISBN 3823750003 , p. 307
- ↑ a b Pedagogy, Ed. Hobmair, Bildungsverlag Eins-Stam, Troisdorf, 2002, ISBN 3823750003 , p. 308
- ^ Pedagogy, Ed. Hobmair, Bildungsverlag Eins-Stam, Troisdorf, 2002, ISBN 3823750003 , p. 311
- ↑ a b Pedagogy, Ed. Hobmair, Bildungsverlag Eins-Stam, Troisdorf, 2002, ISBN 3823750003 , p. 312